Burnout Syndrome in municipal health managers

Abstract Background Municipal health managers must respond to the demands of their staff and Unified Health System´s patients, facing daily potentially stressful situations. The work overload can lead to physical and mental exhaustion, with depletion of emotional resources, and trigger the Burnout Syndrome (BS) with consequences that can affect the service, as the managing activity takes major decisions on health actions that affect many people. This study verified the presence of BS in the municipal health managers in the state of São Paulo. Methods Cross-sectional study. Demographic and socioeconomic data were collected and BS levels were evaluated by application of the Cuestionario para La Evalución Del Síndrome de Quermarse por El Trabajo (CESQT). The descriptive analysis was performed using the frequency estimation. Results We verified a low prevalence of BS among 199 participants. However, some cases, including profile 2 features, indicated the presence of BS. Conclusion These findings show that this is a professional class in need of attention and care to prevent and control the consequences of BS, in order to prevent sickness in health services managers.